Method and apparatus for storing email messages

ABSTRACT

A method for saving an email to an electronic storage location is disclosed. A topic identifier located in the email is used to locate a storage location on the electronic storage device for saving the email message. Emails relating to the same topics of interest may be stored in the same storage location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/700,356, filed Sep. 11, 2017, whichis a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/206,540, filed Jul. 11, 2016, now Issued U.S. Pat. No.9,762,522, which is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/220,183, filed Mar. 20, 2014, now IssuedU.S. Pat. No. 9,391,939, which is a continuation of, and claims priorityto, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/907,774, filed Apr. 14, 2005,now Issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,713,109, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electronic messaging and moreparticularly to a method of saving an electronic mail message to astorage location on a computer storage device.

Emails have become an important part of communications for business andpersonal use. Emails offer a quick and effective means of communicatingbetween remote senders and receivers. Corporate and non-corporateindividuals use emails to transmit information to family members,clients, business associates, and the like. Not only do emails expeditecommunication, but emails also provide a “written” record of what wascommunicated from a sender to a receiver. This is especially importantin corporate or business settings where it is often desirous to keep arecord of communications sent from or received by one member or allmembers in the organization.

An email message folder, such as a “sent” folder, may be configured forstoring copies of emails sent by a user. The sent folder may containcopies of the emails sent from the user to other recipients; however,emails received by the user are not typically stored in the sent folder.Furthermore, many companies require that emails stored within the emailprogram structure, which includes the sent folder, must be purged ordeleted after a period of time has elapsed, such as 60 or 90 days. Infact, many companies perform this email cleanup automatically andwithout the knowledge of its users. In this case, the sent folder cannotbe reliably used to retain copies of emails communicated to anotherparty past the period of time for deleting emails.

Some methods of storing emails require a user to identify a root ortarget directory of an electronic storage medium such as a hard drive ofa file server, where it is desired to save the email message. Othermethods, however, do not prompt a user for a desired save location andsave all emails to a single target directory. In this manner, emailshaving independent subject matter, sender, receiver, and the like, arestored together in the same location on the file server.

Other methods of storing an email message on an electronic storagedevice use user-selected options to create subfolders in a targetdirectory. For example, subfolders may be created for the email sender,the date the email was sent, the recipients of the email, or the domainof the sender. When creating subfolders for senders, emails from onesender may be stored in a subfolder assigned to the one sender, andemails from another sender may be stored in a separate subfolderassigned to the other sender. However, one sender may send severalemails, each relating to a separate topic of interest. Accordingly, thesubfolder may contain emails from a particular sender that relate tomultiple topics of interest. Such a convoluted system is particularlyburdensome when locating and retrieving a stored email. Additionally, ifstored in subfolders of the email program, they are generally not exemptfrom corporate purge policies.

It is often desirable, however, to store emails together in filelocations according to topics of interest regardless of the sender. Thatis, it would be desirable to be capable of storing emails related to onetopic of interest for several senders in one location and storing emailsrelated to another topic of interest from the same or other senders inanother location, and so on. Thus, it is desirable to segment andseparately store emails based on subject matter. In this manner, forexample, and in the context of a law firm, emails pertaining to aparticular client matter may be stored in locations associated with theclient files, and in particular, specially designated attorney-clientcorrespondence files.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system of automaticallystoring emails relating to similar topics of interest on a computerstorage medium in a storage location dedicated to or otherwiseassociated with the topic of interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system for savinginformation contained in an email that overcomes the aforementioneddrawbacks. The present invention includes a method of acquiring anidentifier that indicates a matter or discussion topic to which theemail pertains. The identifier is used to identify a storage location ona computer storage device, and the email is automatically saved thereto.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method ofsaving an email includes the step of acquiring a project file identifierassociated with an email. The method also includes the steps of queryingan electronic storage device to locate a storage location on theelectronic storage device corresponding to the project file identifierand automatically storing information contained in the email to thestorage location.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a computerreadable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program comprisinginstructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause theat least one processor to determine if a storage location identifierexists in at least one of a subject line and a body of an email. If thestorage location identifier exists, the at least one processorautomatically queries an electronic storage medium to locate a physicalstorage location on the electronic storage medium based on the storagelocation identifier and automatically stores information contained inthe email to the physical storage location.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a systemfor distributed file access includes a remote server having a databasefor storing emails. The system also includes a computer workstationcapable of communication with the remote server, the computerworkstation having thereon a computer readable storage medium havingstored thereon a computer program comprising instructions which whenexecuted by a computer cause the computer to determine a storagelocation identifier of an email, the storage location identifiercomprising a client/customer number and a matter number. The computerprogram further causes the computer to determine an email storagelocation on an electronic storage device from the storage locationidentifier and automatically store the email to the email storagelocation on the electronic storage device.

Various other features and advantages of the present invention will bemade apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment presently contemplatedfor carrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the steps of a technique in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the steps of an optional techniqueincorporating the steps of FIG. 1 in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the steps of another optional techniqueincorporating the steps of FIG. 1 in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the steps of an optional techniqueincorporating the steps of the techniques shown in FIGS. 1, 2 , and/or 3in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a multi-node network of an emailsystem incorporating the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 , a save email technique 10 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention is shown. The technique 10 begins 12with identification of an email at 14 to process. It is contemplatedthat a number of parameters may be used to determine which email toaccess. For example, the most recently opened or sent email message, auser-selected email in an email folder list, and receiving at least oneemail identifier uniquely identifying a particular email, such as anitem list number, may each be parameters to earmark an email. Once agiven email has been identified, the email is accessed 16 such thatinformation contained therein is available to properly store the emailon a file server.

After the email is accessed 16, the information contained in thesubject, or “re”, line and the message body is available for inspection.The order in which the subject line and the message body are accessedmay vary from application to application and is interchangeable. In thismanner, accessing the subject line before the message body may bepreferred when the topic identifier is customarily placed in the subjectline. Alternatively, accessing the message body before the subject linemay be preferred when the topic identifier is customarily placed in themessage body.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the subject line of the email is accessed instep 18, and the save email technique 10 determines whether a topicidentifier is found in the subject, or “re”, line at step 20. If a topicidentifier is found in the subject line 22, then the save emailtechnique 10 proceeds to step 36 as described below. If a topicidentifier is not found in the subject line 24, then the message body ofthe email is analyzed 26. Technique 10 then determines whether a topicidentifier is found in the message body at step 28. If a topicidentifier is found in the message body 30, then the save emailtechnique 10 proceeds to step 36 described below. If a topic identifieris not found in the message body 32, then save email technique 10prompts a user to input a topic identifier 34 and proceeds to step 36described below.

A topic identifier may indicate, for example, a client or customer and amatter number for that client/customer. The topic identifier may alsoindicate a project file identifier for a client/customer. A project fileseparates work associated with the project file from work associatedwith a different project file for a client/customer. The project fileidentifier identifies the client/customer project file and includes notonly the client/customer, but it also includes the project file. Thetopic identifier may include a series of alpha-numeric and/or othercharacters that uniquely identify a topic of the email. The topicidentifier may contain a set pattern or arrangement whereby all topicidentifiers contain the same type of characters in the same characterpositions. That is, all topic identifiers may be designed to contain aset number of alphabetic characters followed by a set number of numericcharacters. In this manner, portions of the subject line and messagebody may be searched for a character pattern that matches the characterpattern of the topic identifiers. For example, if all topic identifierscontain four alphabetic characters followed by four integers, such asABCD0001, ABCD0002, etc., the subject line and/or message body can besearched for an eight-character word pattern matching the pattern“@@@@####”, where “@” represents an alphabetic character and “#”represents an integer. The topic identifier may also include a period ora dash separating a customer identifier from a matter identifier, suchas ABCD.001 or ABCD-0001. Alternatively, the topic identifiers maycontain characters that uniquely identify the topic but do not containthe same type of characters in the same character positions. Thetechnique of the present invention may be easily modified to work withany firm's or company's existing client/customer identifiers so as tonot require any modification of its on-going use of its particularidentifying system.

A database may also be created and maintained for matching topicidentifiers whether or not the same character pattern is used for alltopic identifiers. The database may contain records of topic identifiersfor determining whether the subject line and/or message body contain atopic identifier. In this manner, each topic identifier in the databaseis accessed and compared with portions of the subject line and/ormessage body until a match is found or until the all records in thedatabase have been accessed and no match is found.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , a storage location on an electronic storagemedium is determined at step 36. When a database is used, each databaserecord may contain a unique topic identifier and a storage location onthe electronic storage medium for the unique topic identifier. Thestorage location, in this manner, is determined from the database recordonce the database record matching the topic identifier is located.

Alternatively, the storage location can be determined dynamically, oron-the-fly, on an electronic storage device set up to contain at leastportions of the topic identifier in the names of the folders andsub-folders. Using ABCD.0001 and ABCD.0002 as examples, a client folderon the electronic storage device containing at least the uniquecharacters “ABCD” may be created having sub-folders created therein—onesub-folder for matter number “0001” and another sub-folder for matternumber “0002”. The storage location for an email containing the topicidentifier “ABCD.0002” may be located by comparing all client folders tosee if “ABCD” is found therein and comparing all sub-folders of clientfolder “ABCD” to see if “0002” is found therein.

At step 38, save email technique 10 determines whether a storagelocation was found in the preceding step. If a storage location has beendetermined, technique 10 proceeds to step 46. If a storage location hasnot been found, the user is prompted to input a storage location 44, andsave email technique 10 proceeds to step 46.

At step 46, information contained in the email is saved to an email fileat the determined storage location. Information such as the sender, thereceiver, the send or receive date, the subject line, and the messagebody can be saved to the email file. The file may be saved in one of avariety of electronic file formats including a plain text formattedfile, a Hyper-text Markup Language (HTML) formatted file, and an emailformatted file. The file formats may be determined from the type, orformat, of the email. The file format in which to save the email may bedetermined by default or from a user input.

The title of the email file may contain information from the email sothat the email file can be distinguished from other email files saved inthe same storage location. The title may contain the sender, thereceiver, the send or receive date, the subject line, and any otherdistinguishing identification. In the preferred embodiment, the titleincludes the date the email was sent or received, the client/customersender or recipient of the email, and the subject line of the emailmessage. For example, a title including the following format has beenfound to be most desirable for quickly determining the “when”, “who”,and “what” of the saved emails: “YYYY.MM.DD Sender Subject line”, whereYYYY.MM.DD represents the 4-digit year, 2-digit month, and 2-digit day,respectively. The title may be determined automatically or received asinput from the user. For example, the user may choose to use anabbreviated form of the recipient's name or an abbreviated subject line.In case an email file already exists with the same name as the currentemail file to be saved, the user may be prompted to enter a unique nameor a unique identifier may be added to the title to distinguish thecurrent email file title from the existing file title. An integer mayalso be added in parentheses to distinguish commonly-named saved files.For example, “email title” and “email title (1)”.

The present invention also contemplates that the title of the email filemay be modified or truncated where a backup system controlling thebackup of at least a portion of the electronic storage device requiresthat no more than a maximum number of characters exist in the completepath of a file name in order to back up the file. Once a storagelocation and a title are determined, the number of characters thereinmay be compared with a maximum number of characters allowed for backup.If the number of characters in the title exceeds the maximum number ofcharacters allowed for backup, the title may be automatically modifiedto contain no more than the maximum number of characters. Alternatively,the title may be displayed to the user for modifying the number ofcharacters therein.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , save email technique 10 determines whetherto search for topic identifiers 48 not previously found in the email.This allows for an email that relates to multiple topics to be saved inmultiple locations automatically. This allows an email pertaining tomultiple matters to be saved in each file that it pertains to. If othertopic identifiers are to be determined 50, technique 10 returns to step18 and proceeds as described above; otherwise, other topic identifiersare not to be determined 52, and save email technique 10 terminates 54.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , an optional technique 56 is shownincorporating the steps of save email technique 10 as described abovethat saves all emails to a topic storage location. An email is firstsaved to the topic storage location. Then, a determination is madewhether the email should be deleted. In this manner, the all emails aresaved to the topic storage location before being deleted. Afterinitialization 58, technique 56 calls save email technique 10 at step 60and performs the steps of save email technique 10 as described above.After termination of the steps of save email technique 10, the user isprompted to delete the saved email 62 previously saved using save emailtechnique 10. Technique 56 receives user input and determines whether tokeep or delete the saved email at 64. If the user input indicates thatthe saved email should be deleted 66, then technique 56 deletes thesaved email 68 and terminates 72. If the user input indicates that thesaved email should not be deleted 70, then technique 56 terminates 72.

Converse to technique 56, FIG. 3 shows another optional technique 74incorporating the steps of save email technique 10 as described abovethat saves emails to a topic storage location only after it has beendetermined that it should be saved. In this manner, only those emailsdetermined to be saved in the topic storage location are saved in thetopic storage location. After initialization 76, the user is prompted tosave an email using save email technique 10. Technique 74 receives userinput and determines at step 80 whether to save the email or toterminate. If the user input indicates that the email should not besaved 82, then technique 74 terminates 88. If the user input indicatesthat the email should be saved 84, technique 74 performs the steps ofsave email technique 10 at 86 as described above. After termination ofsave email technique 10, technique 74 terminates 88.

FIG. 4 illustrates an optional technique 90 for automatically detectingan email having information to be saved. Technique 90 begins at step 92and an email monitor configuration is determined at step 94. The emailmonitor configuration may include automatically monitoring a mailboxand/or message folder of an email server for the addition of an emailthereto. For example, the email monitor configuration may automaticallymonitor a folder configured to receive copies of sent messages or afolder configured to receive incoming emails. The email monitorconfiguration may also include automatically monitoring outgoing emailsas they are sent or are in the process of being sent.

After the email monitor configuration is determined, technique 90determines whether an additional email has been detected. If anadditional email has been detected 98, then the additional email may beprocessed 100 according to the steps of any of techniques 10, 56, and 74as described above. After processing the additional email, technique 90proceeds to step 104 as described below. If an additional message hasnot been detected 102, then technique 90 determines whether monitoringshould continue 104. If monitoring should continue 106, then technique90 returns to step 96 and proceeds as described above. If monitoringshould not continue 108, then technique 90 terminates 110.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , an overview block diagram of a computernetwork system 112 is shown which includes a plurality of stations, suchas Station A referenced with numeral 114, and Station B referenced withnumeral 116, which may include business, office, home, or libraryfacilities. It is understood that the number of stations can belimitless, but two specific embodiments are shown with Station A andStation B, which will be further explained hereinafter. The stations114, 116 are connected to a centralized facility 118 through acommunications link 120, such as a network of interconnected servernodes. This network of interconnected nodes may be a secure, internal,intranet or a public communications network, such as the internet.Furthermore, the nodes may be interconnected through wired or wirelessprotocols. Although a single centralized facility is shown anddescribed, it is understood that the present invention contemplates theuse of multiple centralized facilities, each capable of communicationwith each station. Each station has operational software associatedtherewith which can be serviced by the centralized facility 118.

The various systems disclosed are configured to be selectively linked tothe centralized facility 118 by a workstation, which in the example ofstation 114, includes a laptop computer 122 or permanent workstation 124connected to an internal network 126. Such selective linking isdesirable for accessing data from the systems and transmitting data tothe systems.

It is understood that workstations 122, 124 are linked together by theinternal network 126. Additionally, each workstation 122, 124 may belinked to a local database 128 configured to store emails, as will bediscussed shortly. Further, such a system is provided withcommunications components allowing it to send and receive data over acommunications link 120. Similarly, a non-networked workstation 124 atremote station 116 is connected to communications link 120 through whichit can communicate with the centralized facility 118. A workstation 132,located at the centralized facility 118, connects to a centralizeddatabase 134 included in a file server 136 located on intranet 138.Workstations 122, 124 external to the local intranet 138 containing thecentralized database 134 can access the database as though locatedlocally on the intranet 138 through communications link 120 and router140. More specifically, as will be described, workstations 122, 124, and132 can access the data stored in the centralized database 134, or otherremote database, such as database 128, as though the data were stored ina database within the specific workstation requesting the data.

As previously discussed, each of the systems and substations describedherein and referenced in FIG. 2 may be linked selectively to thecentralized facility 118 via a network 120. According to the presentinvention, any acceptable network may be employed whether public, open,dedicated, private, or so forth. The communications links to the networkmay be of any acceptable type, including conventional telephone lines,fiber optics, cable modem links, digital subscriber lines, wireless datatransfer systems, or the like. Each of the systems is provided withcommunications interface hardware and software of generally knowndesign, permitting them to establish network links and exchange datawith the centralized facility 118. However, the systems or particularly,workstations 122, 124 are provided with specialized software so as tocommunicate with the centralized facility 118 and particularly with theremote database 134 as though the data stored in the remote database islocated locally on workstation 122, 124. In some cases, during periodswhen no data is exchanged between the stations and the centralizedfacility, the network connection can be terminated. In other cases, thenetwork connection is maintained continuously.

In one embodiment, a user logged into a workstation computer 122, 124,and 132 connected, either remotely or directly, to intranet 138 receivesemails from an email server 142 connected to intranet 138. Once theemails are received, any of the techniques 112, 56, and 74 describedabove, may be initiated to process any of the emails that need to bestored. Workstations 122, 124 at Station A may store emails on database128 or database 134 when connected to intranet 138. Workstation 124 atStation B and workstation 132 may store emails on database 134 whenconnected to intranet 138. Additionally, all workstations may storeemails locally on electronic storage devices inside each workstation forlater transfer to database 128 or database 134. Database 134 need not belocated in a separate centralized facility 118. That is, database 134may be located in either one of stations 114, 116 as well as be remotelylocated within that station and the workstation 122, 124 requiringaccess to the scanning data.

The stored emails are preferably stored in locations designated forservice provider/client correspondence. For example, an accounting orlaw firm may store all client correspondence emails in correspondencefolders located within each client folder. In this manner, all emailcorrespondence with a particular client may be more easily located orretrieved when necessary. When logged into a workstation connected todatabase 128 or database 136, a user may save emails thereto or retrievesaved emails therefrom.

Therefore, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, amethod of saving an email includes the step of acquiring a project fileidentifier associated with an email. The method also includes the stepsof querying an electronic storage device to locate a storage location onthe electronic storage device corresponding to the project fileidentifier and automatically storing information contained in the emailto the storage location.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, acomputer readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer programcomprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to determine if a storage locationidentifier exists in at least one of a subject line and a body of anemail. If the storage location identifier exists, the at least oneprocessor automatically queries an electronic storage medium to locate aphysical storage location on the electronic storage medium based on thestorage location identifier and automatically stores informationcontained in the email to the physical storage location.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, asystem for distributed file access includes a remote server having adatabase for storing emails. The system also includes a computerworkstation capable of communication with the remote server, thecomputer workstation having thereon a computer readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon a computer program comprising instructions whichwhen executed by a computer cause the computer to determine a storagelocation identifier of an email, the storage location identifiercomprising a client/customer number and a matter number. The computerprogram further causes the computer to determine an email storagelocation on an electronic storage device from the storage locationidentifier and automatically store the email to the email storagelocation on the electronic storage device.

The present invention has been described in terms of the preferredembodiment, and it is recognized that equivalents, alternatives, andmodifications, aside from those expressly stated, are possible andwithin the scope of the appending claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving stored thereon a computer program for saving an email, thecomputer program comprising instructions that cause a processor to: scanan email message for a topic identifier; determine a suggested storagelocation for the email message based on the topic identifier; display auser interface to a user to prompt the user whether to save the emailmessage at the suggested storage location; receive an input from theuser via the user interface to save the email message at the suggestedstorage location or at a user-selected storage location; and saving theemail message based on the user input.
 2. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 1 wherein the computer program instructions furthercause the processor to generate a name for the email message and to savethe message using the generated name.
 3. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 1 wherein the computer program instructions furthercause the processor to generate a name for the email message based on atleast a date of the email message.
 4. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 1 wherein the computer program instructions furthercause the processor to: generate a name for the email message; displaythe name in the user interface; and allow the user to modify the name,if desired.
 5. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1 whereinthe computer program instructions cause the processor to determine thesuggested storage location by: identifying a folder within a databasebased on a first portion of the topic identifier; identifying asub-folder within the identified folder based on a second portion of thetopic identifier; and selecting the identified sub-folder as thesuggested storage location.
 6. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 1 wherein the computer program instructions cause the processorto: scan the email message for a second topic identifier; and determinea second suggested storage location for the email message based on thesecond topic identifier.
 7. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 1 wherein the computer program instructions further cause theprocessor to convert the email message into a different file formatbefore saving the email message.
 8. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium having stored thereon a computer program for saving anemail, the computer program comprising instructions that: cause aprocessor to scan at least one of a subject line and a body of an emailmessage for a topic identifier, the email message residing within anemail program; cause the processor to determine a storage location on anelectronic storage medium for the email message based on the topicidentifier, the storage location independent of the email program; andcause the processor to save the email message at the storage location.9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the computerprogram instructions further cause the processor to generate a name forthe email message based on at least a date associated with the emailmessage.
 10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein thecomputer program instructions further cause the processor to prompt auser to edit the generated name for the email message.
 11. The computerreadable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the computer programinstructions further cause the processor to prompt a user on a userinterface to save the email message at the storage location.
 12. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein the computerprogram instructions further cause the processor to receive an inputfrom the user via the user interface to save the email message at thestorage location or at a user-selected storage location.
 13. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the computer programinstructions further cause the processor to convert an electronic fileformat of the email message into an electronic file format differentfrom a default electronic file format used by the email program.
 14. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon acomputer program for saving an email message, the computer programcomprising instructions that cause a processor to: monitor a folder ofan email program for new emails; upon identifying that the folder hasreceived a new email, prompt a user to save the email; if the userelects to save the email: access the email to locate information forgenerating a file name for the email and to locate a topic identifierassociated with a storage location in a database; query the database tolocate the storage location; generate a file name for the email, thefile name including a date associated with the email; and prompt theuser to save the email at the storage location identified via the topicidentifier.
 15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 whereinthe computer program instructions cause the processor to locate thetopic identifier by comparing text from a subject line of the email to apreset character pattern.
 16. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 14 wherein the computer program instructions cause the processorto locate the storage location by: comparing a first set of charactersof the topic identifier to names of a plurality of folders in thedatabase; upon identifying a folder having a name that includes thefirst set of characters of the topic identifier, comparing a second setof characters of the topic identifier to a name of at least onesub-folder within the identified folder; and upon identifying asub-folder having a name that includes the second set of characters ofthe topic identifier, selecting the identified sub-folder as the storagelocation.
 17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 whereinthe computer program instructions further cause the processor to: changethe electronic file format of the email; and save the email with thechanged electronic file format.
 18. The computer readable storage mediumof claim 14 wherein the computer program instructions further cause theprocessor to include a name of a sender or recipient of the email andtext from a subject line of the email in the generated file name for theemail.
 19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein thecomputer program instructions further cause the processor to prompt theuser to edit the generated file name.
 20. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 14 wherein the computer program instructions furthercause the processor to automatically edit the generated file name if thegenerated file name exceeds a maximum number of allowable characters.21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein thecomputer program instructions further cause the processor to prompt auser to select a storage location if the email does not include a topicidentifier.
 22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingstored thereon a computer program for saving emails comprisinginstructions that: cause a processor to monitor and identify outboundemails from an unassociated email program; cause the processor todetermine a storage location on an electronic storage medium for eachidentified email based on a topic identifier in each identified email,the storage location independent of the email program; and cause theprocessor to save the identified email to the storage location.
 23. Thecomputer readable storage medium of claim 22 wherein the computerprogram instructions further cause the processor to prompt a user with asuggested name for saving an identified email.
 24. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 22 wherein the computer program instructionsfurther cause the processor to allow a user to interrupt the program toprevent saving of the identified email.
 25. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 22 wherein the computer program instructionsfurther cause the processor to monitor incoming emails into theunassociated email program and to store the incoming emails to theelectronic storage medium.
 26. The computer readable storage medium ofclaim 25 wherein the computer program instructions further cause theprocessor to save emails in a format different than an email format ofthe unassociated email program.
 27. The computer readable storage mediumof claim 22 wherein the computer program instructions further cause theprocessor to assign a name to the identified email.
 28. The computerreadable storage medium of claim 27 wherein the computer programinstructions further cause the processor to generate the name from acharacteristic of the identified email.